I just met up with one of my colleagues who had an interview with a BB in Toronto for a Derivatives Analyst Interview. What happened was the manager chewed him up. Saying he wasn’t qualified and basically giving him attitude. He just sat there and took the insults. The manager even laughed at him for working at a Discount Brokerage. however, he received an offer. My question is, do managers rip up candidates for the hell of it or do they do it to test the person? My understanding is, an interview is a meeting, not one person begging for a job. If a person is going to be rude in an interview, should one expect that to change when they get on the job? Secondly, how many of you guys would let an interviewer insult you? obviously its wise to keep your mouth shut and just take the abuse, but if the person goes on about how unqualified and stupid you’re and being unncessarily disrespectful , what would you do?
I’m not into letting people abuse me. I don’t really care who they are. That has caused problems in the past, and probably will again in the future. However, I sleep better at night knowing that I don’t take peoples B.S. And I have actually gotten positive feedback after putting someone in their place. I respect everyone until they disrespect me, and then all bets are off. That being said, defending yourself can be done in a tactful way too. It doesn’t always come in the form of telling someone to go f*ck themselves. (but sometimes it does)… 
bodymore, I feel the same way. From what my colleague told me, the manager didn’t even bother to ask him any real questions to ascertain his level of knowledge. Everything he said was mocked. like when he told him that he was interested in derivatives the manager replied with sarcasm, “i’m sure you know a lot about derivatives since you’ve worked in a discount brokerage before”. also, when he told him that he was doing the CFA, the manager replied, “so what do you want me to think about that”. finally, the manager went on to say, “we’re not going to pay you anything more then what you’re getting now, if you get anything at all”. though what the manager said is problably true, I believe there are two ways to do things, the right way and the wrong way. No need to be a jerk about things. he is wondering now if he should even accept the offer because he doesn’t want to work with that person or in that sort of environment. can you blame him?
If the manager hated him so much, why did he get an offer to begin with?
Would have told him to fuck off
adehbone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If the manager hated him so much, why did he get > an offer to begin with? that’s what we’re trying to figure out. we’re wondering if this sort of treatment is normal.
had to be some sort of character test. or, the manager with the hiring decision thinks the interviewing manager is batty and doesn’t respect his opinion.
I was once questioned on my career path and background in a hostile manner. I pressed back and questioned on why he wasn’t further along in his career path to CEO. He was at a loss for words…
hueion Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was once questioned on my career path and > background in a hostile manner. I pressed back and > questioned on why he wasn’t further along in his > career path to CEO. He was at a loss for words… hilarious
I would’ve physically kicked his ass.
Frank, It would have to depend on the job and the firm. If I was interviewing for an analyst role and Morgan Stanley and was called a dumb a** 10/15 times in the interview, then I would probably say “It went really really well”. But in some ways, I’d prefer to be chewed out, and given an offer than to be buttered up and led down a false path…those hurt WAY more and I’ve got about a dozen instances of that happening to me. Willy
How can you let anybody call you a dumbass in any situation? Sheeeeesh…have some self-respect???
Your saying your boss never called you a dumbass, when you screwed up? I am suprised that is very rare in the financial sector.
i did an interview for an entry level analyst roll at merrill lynch a couple years back. had no experience, and didn’t quite meat their usual “4.0 GPA” candidate profile. got the interview by having a family friend there… the guy who interviewed me showed up about half an hour late, and his secretary even mentioned to me he was having a bad day. he walked in with one of his jr guys behind him, and was pretty much barking orders at this kid. i knew from that point on, it was not gonna be a fun meeting. he then proceeded to jump up and down on me about being ‘totally unqualified’ for the position, and went on and on about how ML gets only the best of the best and I was wasting his time and mine. how i should consider a different career, blah blah blah… needless to say, i thanked him for his time and didn’t even bother to get a business card from him. i was only 22, fresh out of school, and totally dumbstruck that the guy would be such a prick in an interview. had he pulled the same stunt in an interview now, i would have gone up one side of him and down the other…but when you are completely green to the corporate world, you are pretty much dear in the headlights. so ya…it does happen. i wouldn’t even consider working for someone who acted like that, and i am a firm believer that, in the long run, what goes around comes around. you treat interview candidates like shit, and evenutally one of them is gonna come back to haunt you when they work for another firm.
I have never had this kind of interview, but heard it happened to some people I know. (The most disrespectful interview for me was when interviewers showed up in T-shirt/Jeans) I just want to ask, even if the purpose of so-called high pressure interview is to test candidates’ resourcefulness (or whatever they call) under pressure situation, don’t they worry about the firm’s reputation? They are rejecting more people than hiring, and those who weren’t hired will surely badmouth this firm. People are much more likely to talk about bad expereince regarding the frim (or product, service for that matter) than good experience.
could be also a test…or not? i just thought that if i were a recruiter i would do that to check how much the candidates hold to whaterver they are and be able to defend themselves with dignity out of the situation…well, like it does not happen in the corporate world when a clueless ceo would shout at you for no reason… edit:sorry, did not see that someone else came with that brilliant idea before me lol
ooops
I’ve never been insulted in an interview like the stories here. I don’t know how you could sit through that. I’d probably walk out after the 2nd ‘dumbass’. The worst interview experience I had was when I was in the lobby waiting, the guy who was to be interviewed next showed up early (we were both scheduled for 45 min interviews apparently). When the interviewer came out he saw we were both there and brought us both in at the same time. Bad form if you ask me. If was pretty fun blowing that guy out of the water for 45 minutes, though.
“so ya…it does happen. i wouldn’t even consider working for someone who acted like that, and i am a firm believer that, in the long run, what goes around comes around. you treat interview candidates like @#$%&, and evenutally one of them is gonna come back to haunt you when they work for another firm” Jeff_S is right. You never know who the person you are disrespecting is connected to either. I know quite a few people that have very good connections, but have started at the bottom b/c their parent/ grandparent/ neighbor/ whoever wanted them to. The person you are treating like sh!t might be connected to the person that can fire your @ss for acting that way!
adehbone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Your saying your boss never called you a dumbass, > when you screwed up? I am suprised that is very > rare in the financial sector. I once had a boss punch me and threaten to blow my face off with a shotgun. I’m not kidding either. But I’ve never really has any bad interviews. I did get in an argument with an interviewer once over which came out first An Officer and a Gentlemen or Full Metal Jacket…I was right, he was wrong and I reminded that guy of it constantly when I worked there.